Drabbles of the Silent Era
by Somber-and-Resplendent
Summary: A collection of 100-word drabbles concerning purely fictitious events surrounding the silent era.
1. (1) Max Linder: The Broken Man

**Note: This series is a collection of drabbles, for those who do not know, a drabble is a short work of fiction of around 100 words in length. The purpose of the drabble is brevity, testing the author's ability to express interesting and meaningful ideas in a confined space. Enjoy!**

 _Max Linder: The Broken Man_

* * *

He's drunk. His eyes are half-lidded and red, and he doesn't notice me. He retrieves his wallet, a picture of two boys staring up at him in wonder.

"You're superman, dad," the oldest says.

"You're strong just like him," the younger one agrees. But he will never see their loving eyes again, gazing up at him in wonder.

"I'm not strong," he mutters, closing his wallet. And he repeats it endlessly, until I find myself saying it,

"I'm not strong." I flip another page and then shut the book, _The Broken Man_. I'm not strong enough to read his chapter.

 **A/N: For those who do not know, Silent Film Comedian, Max Linder, was praised for his comedy. However, I deem him as 'The Broken Man,' for this funny soul battled many wars and ultimately took his own life.**


	2. (2) Jean Harlow: Original Bleach Blonde

_Jean Harlow: The Original Bleach Blonde Bombshell_

* * *

"You're leaving me, aren't you?" he asked, death claiming him. Jean didn't want to answer, because she knew she was. He said he loved her, his voice faint and growing weary. She shed a tear and left, returning to the hotel.

The cleaning lady walked in, and Jean felt an urge to talk to her.

"Would you risk everything for love?"

"I don't know much about love," the cleaning lady answered, surprised by the woman's question.

"You're lucky, it's torture."

"You've loved someone?"

"Yes," Jean said, truth consuming her, "and then I killed him for making me feel that way."

 **A/N: For those who do not know, Silent Film Star, Jean Harlow, was termed 'The Original Bleach Blonde Bombshell' due to her bold move in bleaching her hair blonde. Marilyn Monroe followed this look, and it has been rather trendy since. Also, some say her bleach blonde hair trend raised the sales of bleach during her generation**.


	3. (3) Laurel & Hardy: Kings of Comedy

_Laurel & Hardy: The Kings of Comedy_

* * *

"Thank you for holding the door for me," she said, breathing heavily.

"You're welcome," Oliver replied with a wide smile. "I'm Mr. Hardy and this is my good friend, Mr. Laurel." They all exchanged looks and small smiles. "Where are you headed, if you don't mind me asking?"

"To the ice cream shop. A friend of mine works there," she said as the elevator came to a halt. She stepped out, and Stan followed until Oliver pulled him back by the collar.

"Where do you think you're going?" he asked, frustrated.

"Am going to the ice cream shop," Stan said.

 **A/N: For those who do not know, Silent Film Comedy Duo, Stanley Laurel and Oliver Hardy (better known as Laurel & Hardy) , were often termed 'The Kings of Comedy' due to their influential comedies. The dynamic duo were quite perfect. **


	4. (4) Clara Bow: The It Girl

_Clara Bow: The It Girl_

* * *

"She flew in from London last night," said the butler, Arthur. "She said she wanted to surprise her fiancé, yet ended up surprising herself. She visited his hotel room and said she caught him with another woman." He sighed and brought a hand to his aching forehead. "In all my years of knowing Ruby, I've never seen her cry."

He paused, reminiscing of the little girl he raised, "She's called off the engagement. The phone rings, but she refuses to answer."

"Do you think she will take him back?" the stranger asked.

"How can she when he doesn't even exist?"

 **A/N: For those who do not know, Silent Film Star, Clara Bow, was termed 'The It Girl' due to her portrayal as a sassy shop girl in the 1927 film, It. Also, she is recognized for starting the flapper-look trend.**


	5. (5) Charlie Chaplin: The World Laugh

_Charlie Chaplin: The Man Who Made the World Laugh_

* * *

"You're a classy woman, Ms. Marx. You deserve the best, and I can give it to you," he said with a smile.

"And what makes you think that I need you?" she asked in slight disgust; she never fancied his conversations, nor him.

"That's what I love about you. You're such a strong, independent woman."

"Or maybe you just want to see me break." She scoffed and turned away, but he snatched her by her long dark hair and drew her near.

"No," he hissed, "I don't want to _see_ you break. I want to be the one breaking you."

 **A/N: For those who do not know, Silent Film Comedian, Charles Spencer Chaplin (Charlie Chaplin), was termed 'The Man Who Made the World Laugh' due to his worldwide fame portraying his well-known character, 'The Little Tramp.' He was also a turning point in the film industry, heightening his iconic fame.**


	6. (6) Buster Keaton: The Great Stone Face

_Buster Keaton: The Great Stone Face_

* * *

She made her way down the same path she took every day to the bus stop, passing by the public park whose colorful, autumn trees of orange and yellow never ceased to amaze her. She shivered from the cool breeze that swept past her and tightened her burgundy scarf which her aunt had knit especially for her. Today was perfect, until she saw him.

He wore a black suit, black shoes were polished, his light grey pork-pie hat sat crooked on top of his raven hair, and his face was grey. He was strange, odd, and different; he was colorless.

 **A/N: For those who do not know, Silent Film Comedian, Joseph "Buster" Keaton, was termed 'The Great Stone Face' due to his deadpan facial expression in his films.**


	7. (7) Greta Garbo: The Swedish Queen

_Greta Garbo: The Swedish Queen_

* * *

Unusual as it was, Mrs. Garbo made the first move by calling him.

"May I speak to Mark?" she asked, recalling the red haired man she adored.

"Speaking?"

"Greta."

Her hands began to sweat, for if her husband were to catch her in her affairs, he'd surely beat her.

Static came from the receiver, and Greta sighed in relief, "Mark, I realize now that you're the only man I want in my life."

"Who's Mark?" asked a voice from behind. Greta gulped, turned around, and found her husband smothered in blood, a chunk of red hair clutched in his hands.

 **A/N: For those who do not know, Silent Film Star, Greta Garbo, was a popular, Swedish actress, whom I term 'The Swedish Queen' due to her portrayal of a Swedish Queen in the movie, Queen Christina 1933 (However, that particular film is not silent)**


	8. (8) Lon Chaney: Man of a Thousand Faces

_Lon Chaney: The Man of a Thousand Faces_

* * *

"You've changed your mind?" Lon asked, a smirk overtaking his face. He knew she would come back to him, and she had, bloodied hands and quivering lips.

"I don't trust you," she said.

"Then why are you here?" He crossed his arms and leaned back upon the table. He knew why she had come. He wanted her to admit it.

"Because . . ." she started, words trailing off.

"Tell me."

"Because," she started again, gesturing towards the heap behind her, "I need you to finish what I've started."

A man's body lay behind her, his head halfway cut off.

 **A/N: For those who do not know, Silent Film Star, Lon Chaney, was termed, 'The Man of a Thousand Faces' due his make-up enhancements while playing horror based roles such as the Phantom in Phantom of the Opera & Quasimodo in The Hunchback of Notre-Dame.**


	9. (9) Rudolph Valentino: The Silent Idol

_Rudolph Valentino: The Silent Idol_

* * *

"I've never met a time traveler before," Rudolph said.

" _Shh!_ " She brought a finger to her lips and pulled him close. A few curious people in the diner glanced their way and stared.

"They can't know," she whispered.

"You know me, don't you?" he asked. She glanced at him, taking in his sudden fascination.

"We've never met," she replied. Disappointment gripped him. His dreams of being entangled in a time traveler's affairs were rubbish.

"What time are you from?" he asked, still intrigued by her presence. "Is it far away from here?"

"I'm at least a century into the future."

 **A/N: For those who do not know, Silent Film Star, Rudolph Valentino, was termed 'The Silent Idol' or 'The Great Lover' due to his romantic dramas.**


	10. (10) Laurel & Hardy: Kings of Comedy

_Laurel & Hardy: The Kings of Comedy_

* * *

As Oliver and his wife argued, Stan took notes on their lecturing. When Oliver noticed this, he snatched the notebook and read, _honesty is the greatest politics._ Oliver's wife nodded her head in agreement and left.

"Isn't it about time you head on home and create trouble there," Oliver said, annoyed.

"Trouble?" Stan asked.

"Well, you got my wife to fight with me."

"If you had just told her the truth you wouldn't have had to remember a lie," Stan protested.

Oliver groaned and tossed his friend out. Stan, lingering in the hallway, made another bullet: _never lose your temper._

 **A/N: For those who do not know, Silent Film Comedy Duo, Stanley Laurel and Oliver Hardy (better known as Laurel & Hardy) , were often termed 'The Kings of Comedy' due to their influential comedies. The dynamic duo were quite perfect.**


	11. (11) Marie Prevost: Beautiful and Damned

**Note: This is dedicated to fanfiction user Midwich Cuckoo for suggesting a drabble over Marie Prevost.**

 _Marie Prevost: The Beautiful and the Damned_

* * *

She studied her reflection and grimaced at the voluptuous curves that graced her body which had once been long and narrow; the ideal look for the flapper.

"Oh, Marie! What a fascinating little minx!" her fans would cheer. But her deaf ears only heard the screeching tires and her mother's bloodcurdling yelp which followed the tragic accident.

"Drink soothes my wounds," Marie would say, "And Maxie is always here for me."

Her fame grew thin as her body grew thick; perhaps that's why Maxie, her little dachshund, found her so appetizing as he took another bite into her lifeless body.

 **A/N: For those who do not know, Silent Film Star, Marie Prevost, appeared in many movies, often playing a flapper. Notably, she appeared in an adaption of F. Scott Fitzgerald's 'The Beautiful and the Damned' in 1923. Her tragic death, according to her death certificate, was noted as heart failure. Many believed it was due to her crash diets and alcoholism, however, there is a lengthy rumor that her little dachshund ate off of her corpse, for her body was found with bite marks on her legs.**


	12. (12) Buster Keaton: The Great Stone Face

_Buster Keaton: The Great Stone Face_

* * *

As he spoke, things had become apparent and disbelief consumed her. She couldn't get her eyes off of him; it was as if he jumped out of an old vintage film, and he had. She was mesmerized by his very being.

"Please," she whispered, "give me my heart back." He had unknowingly stolen it a long time ago with his silent, cinema charisma. Her words silenced him, and as he stared at her in confusion he caught sight of a picture of himself upon her vanity, signed: _my silent hero._

Directing his eyes back to her, he happily sighed, "Never."

 **A/N: For those who do not know, Silent Film Comedian, Joseph "Buster" Keaton, was termed 'The Great Stone Face' due to his deadpan facial expression in his films**


	13. (13) Thelma Todd: Comedy Princess

_Thelma Todd: Comedy Princess_

* * *

When asked what she wanted to be when she grew up, Thelma would say, "I want to be a teacher."

But her mother was dismayed.

"You're such a pretty little thing, Thelma," she would say, applauding her daughter as she won a local beauty contest, "You'll be a beautiful actress one day."

And she was exactly that: beautiful. In fact she was so beautiful her housemaid thought she was sleeping when she found her slumped over the wheel of her car. Only upon closer inspection did the woman realize she was dead. They deemed it suicide.

I deem it murder.

 **A/N: For those who do not know, Silent Film Star, Thelma Todd, whom I term 'Comedy Princess' appeared in many comedic features along with the Marx Bros, Laurel & Hardy, and Buster Keaton. Her death remains a mystery to this day. She was found in her car, dead. Many claimed it to be a suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning. But later it was unveiled that bruises covered her body, leaving many to assume her ex-husband, Pat DiCicco, had strangled her out of humiliation for her divorcing him. **


End file.
